VOCALOIDs
While "Vocaloid" refers to the engine version of the same name, "Vocaloid(s)" can also apply directly to the mascot/avatar/personna of each "character" made for the Vocaloid engine. Not all Vocaloids have a physical form or a biography. About The term "Vocaloids" was a term fans of the software began using as a method of identificaying the mascots specifically for the Vocaloid software. While most packages adopt a character, not all opt for one and some remain avatarless. The mascot, or lack of one, is intended to act as a starting point of which the Producer can expand on and adapt their work to. The design itself can be adapted and altered to the Producers needs. Some mascots have a biography included with their package while others leave only vague hints or none at all. The mascots also form a starting point for the marketing of merchandise based on the Vocaloid. The mascot has no effect on the software itself and is done purely for decorative reasons. List of "Vocaloids" The following is a list of information on the Vocaloids. *''For the developement status of all Vocaloid voicebanks see "Status".'' Akikoroid-Chan Akikoroid-Chan is the mascot of the unreleased Vocaloid3 voicebank. Her design is controlled by Lawson and based on their mascot Akiko-chan. Aoki Lapis Aoki Lapis is the mascot of the Vocaloid3 voicebank fo the same name. She is 15cm big and based on a fairy and based on "light". Her races concept as fairies is that they are a special race who can convert “songs” into “power”. They can only be seen by a subset of the human population. According to her developers, Aoki Lapis has no memory of who she is. She also has a currently unnamed older sister. Big Al big Al is the mascot of the Vocaloid 2 voicebank of the same name. Originally depicted in the same painted style of boxart as Sweet Ann, he is her counterpart. He is based on a Frankenstein's Monster. He has two bios the first is from PowerFX; *Age = 25 *Height = 6'4" / 193cm *Weight = 190lbs / 86kg The second is from E-Capsule; *Age = 21 *Height = 6'1" / 185cm *Wegith = 160lbs / 73kg Bruno Bruno is the mascot of the Vocaloid3 voicebank of the same name and counterpart to Clara. Clara clara is the mascot of the Vocaloid3 voicebank of the same name and counterpart to Bruno. Cul Cul was originally the mascot of the VOCALO Revolution program and later become a Vocaloid after a campaigne to make her a voclaoid. Galaco Galaco is the mascot of the Vocaloid 3 voicebank of the Galaco same name. Gumi Is the mascot character of the Megpoid package and its V3 updates. Hatsune Miku Hatsune Miku is the mascot of the CV01 Vocaloid package and its Append. She is based on Japanese teenage school girl. *Age = 16 *Height = 5'2" / 158 cm *Weight = 92.4 lbs / 42 kg Hibiki Lui Hibiki Lui is a upcoming vocal for Vocaloid3. He was described as "Easily mistaken for a girl because of his graceful manners." *Age = 12 *Height = 5'1" / 155cm *Weight = 94.6lbs / 43kg Hiyama Kiyoteru Hiyama Kiyoteru is the mascot of the Vocaloid2 voicebank of the same name. He is a teacher at a elementry school, the same one that his counterpart Kaai Yuki attends. At the weekends he is in a band called Ice Mountain, details of which are written in a book of the same name. Also in the book a bio was released; *Age = 22 *Height = 5'9" / 179cm *Weight = 130lbs / 59 kg IA IA is the mascot of the Vocaloid3 voicebank fo the same name. Kaai Yuki Kaai Yuki the mascot for the Vocaloid2 voicebank of the same name. She is based on elementry school student, the same school that her counterpart Hiyama Kiyoteru works out. *Age = 9 *Height = "As tall as 10 big apples" *Weight = "As heavy as 86 apples" Kagamine Len The male mascot of the CV02 package, Act2 and its Append. Kagamine Len is based on a Japanese teenage school boy. He is Kagamine Rin's partner vocal. *Age = 14 *Height = 5'1.4" / 156cm *Weight = 103lbs / 47kg Kagamine Rin The female mascot of the CV02 package, Act2 and its Append. Kagamine Rin is based on a Japanese teenage school girl. She is Kagamine Len's partner vocal. *Age = 14 *Height = 5'0" / 152cm *Weight = 94.79lbs / 43kg Kaito Originally not intended to represent his vocals it has since become his avatar. Kaito is the mascot of the voicebank of the same name released for Vocaloid. He is also the mascot of the upcoming "Kaito Append" package. His counterpart is Meiko. Kamui Gakupo Is the mascot character of the Gackpoid package and its upcoming V3 package. He has a samurai aesthetic about him but otherwise has no further details. Leon Leon has no avatar and is identified as "male" and a "soul Singer". He is the mascot of the voicebank of the same name released for Vocaloid. He is Lola's counterpart. Lily Lily is the mascot for singer Yuri Masuda and is used also for the boxart on the Vocaloid 2 voicebank of the same name, as well as its V3 update. Lola Lola has no avatar and is identified as a "female" and a "Soul Singer".She is the mascot of the voicebank of the same name released for Vocaloid. She is Leon's counterpart. Luo Tianyi Luo Tianyi is the mascot of the upcoming Vocaloid3 voicebank of the same name. According to her official profile, she is an angel who came to the human world with the task of bringing music to the world. She is very empathetic and while she does not communicate well with humans, she can connect to their feelings. She is 15 years old. Megurine Luka Megurine Luka is the mascot of CV03 and its upcoming Append version. *Age = 20 *Height = 5'4" / 162cm *Weight = 99lbs / 45kg Meiko Meiko has a female character on her boxart. Originally not intended to represent her vocals it has since become her avatar. She is the mascot of the voicebank of the same name released for Vocaloid. She is also mascot of the upcoming "Meiko Append" package. She is Kaito's counterpart. Merki Merli is the mascot of the upcoming product of the same name. She is Aoki Lapis' elder sister and current does not have a design. She is "dark" whereas Aoki Lapis is "light". The two are both sisters and enemies. Mew Mew is the mascot of the Vocaloid 3 voicebank of the same name. Miriam Miriam has no avatar, but a blurry photograph of Miriam Stockley is used as a reference for creating further avatars from. She is the mascot of the voicebank of the same name released in Vocaloid. Nekomura Iroha Nekomura Iroha is the mascot fo the Vocaloid 2 voicebank of the same name and was originally featured in the "Hello Kitty to Issho" game as one of the "Kittylers". Oliver Oliver is the mascot character of the Vocaloid 3 voicebank of the same name. He is based on a Frankenstein monster, but has bandages instead of stitches like Big Al and Sweet Ann. He is 12 years old. Prima Prima has no avatar, but does have a woman looking up to the sky. She is a opera singer. She is Tonio's partner. Her E-capsule release gave her the following details: *Age = 18 *Height = 5'1" / 156cm *Weigh = 92.4lbs / 42kg Ring Suzune Ring Suzune is the mascot of the upcoming vocaloid 3 vocal of te same name. She was described as "Light-hearted, doesn’t have high aspirations, but she’s hard-working." *Age= 17 *Height = 5'3" / 160cm *Weight = 96.8lbs / 44kg Ryuto Ryuto is the mascot character of the Gachapoid software and its upcoming V3 update, he is based on Gachapin. SeeU SeeU is the mascot of the SV01 software packagae released for Vocaloid 3. *Age = 17 *Height = 5'2" / 159cm *Weight = 98lbs / 44.5kg SF-A2 miki SF-A2 miki is the mascot of the SF-A2 開発コード miki package released for Vocaloid2. Sonika Sonika was the mascot of the software package of the same name released for Vocaloid2 She has two bios the first is from Zero-G; *Age = 17 *Height = 5'6" / 167cm *Weight = 128lbs / 58Kg The second is from E-Capsule *Age= 17 *Height = 5'3" / 160cm *Weight = 99lbs / 45kg Sweet Ann Sweet Ann is the mascot of the product of the same name released for Vocaloid2. She has no offical design, however, her boxart is a mid-20th century poster-styled painting of a blond woman with curly hair and blue eyes. What is known is that she is based on the "The Bride of Frankenstein". She is Big Al's counterpart. Her E-capsule release gave her the following details: *Age = 23 *Height = 5'4" / 162cm *Weigh = 101lbs / 46kg Tone Rion Tone Rion is the mascot of the Vocaloid3 voicebank of the same name. Her brief backstory states that she is 16 years old and was born in 2095, she is good at singing and dancing. Rion performs on the "Dear Stage" (ディアステージ) located in future Akihabara set 100 years from the current time. *Age = 16 *Height = 155cm Tonio Tonio is the mascot of the Vocaloid 2 voicebank of the same name. He is Prima's partner and a classical/opera style singer. He has no offical avatar but fans often use his boxart as imspiration. His e-capsule release has a bio; *Age = 27 *Height = 6'0" / 183cm *Weight = 160lbs / 73kg Utatane Piko Utatane Piko is the mascot of the Vocaloid 2 voicebank of the same name. He is based on a teenage boy. VY1 VY1 has no mascot, while it has feminine vocals the Vocaloid itself is avatarless and was intended to be a product with no gender, face or identification. It is the mascot of the product of the same name for Vocaloid2 and VY1v3. VY2 VY2 has no mascot, while it has masculine vocals the Vocaloid itself is avatarless and was intended to be a product with no gender, face or identification. The Vocal is made to portray an image of a young handsome male. It is the mascot of the product of the same name for Vocaloid2 and the upcoming VY2v3 package. Yuzuki Yukari Yuzuki Yukari is the mascot of the Vocaloid 3 and voiceroid packages of the same name. Controversial Issues Mascots have involved a number of issues since they began to become a big part of Vocaloid. The following is some of the controversial issues that can surround a design and the issues related to certain elements about them. There are notable controversial issues over some designs and pornography, particularly aimed at child vocals such as Kaai Yuki or Oliver. Since the Vocaloid voicebank is released for Producers to use as they please, some Producers or illustrators have used the software or mascot in inappropriate ways. The use of the software in any way the producers pleases has been described as likening the mascot or voicebank to that of a doll. Therefore, sexual portrayals or Pedophilic imagery is not unheard of.link In the overseas fandom there is also a conflict of interests involving Under-Age sex, particularly in countries like the U.S. or U.K. where the age for sexual intercourse is legally set at the age of 16 years old. In other counteries it may be set at 12 or 13 years old, or no legal age is set at all. Therefore, the depiction of certain Vocaloids will not always transverse overseas well as they could. In Japanese doujin circles, very few hentai imagery exists of Vocaloid characters. This is because copyright on the characters forbid this to occur and most doujin circles obey this ruling. That is not to say it does not exist, however, it often is not openingly made public. There has also been some controversial over mascot designs that bare similairties to existing ones. Some fans become attracted to certain Vocaloids based souly on their boxart and undesirable boxart is often mocked. The vocaloid image can at times often led a otherwise poor quality Vocaloid to recieve more affection then a higher quality Vocaloid with less attractive art. For mascotless Vocaloids, fans can often get attached to particular images of the Vocaloid and shun works that are not in line with this particular version. *Leon is often depicted as a blond-haired man in a blue shirt, despite the fact his boxart has nothing but a set of lips, *For Lola, a particular black haired girl is often used to represent her. *After it won the competition, VY2's wining entry "Roro" became mistaken for offical artwork of VY2's avatar even though this is not the case. *when Cul first started using VY1's vocals in PV's some fans resort to using her for all VY1 imagery. This attachment for a image limits the creative freedom that can be applied to these Vocaloids. Mascot designs can also led to confusion for less information listeners, particularly in PVs. In Luka's popular songs "Secret" and "Corruption Garden" the pink haired girls are often presumed to be Luka herself who also has pink hair. A similair issue is made with Black Rock Shooter who has a design that bares similairties with Miku's own. The same amount of confusion is done when the Vocaloid does appear in the PV, but under a altered design (Miku having brown hair instead of blue for example). References